Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh giving a public lecture at the Law Faculty of the University of Flores, Saturday (5/14/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Hamdi.
Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 20:21 WIB
JAKARTA, Public Relations—Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh delivered a keynote speech at a public lecture on “The Enforcement of Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct in the Process of Handling General Election Violations” by the Law Faculty of the University of Flores on Saturday, May 14, 2022. The event, moderated by law lecturer Anna Maria Gadi Djou, Justice Foekh discussed several topics—the position of state institutions after the Reform, judicial power, constitutional democracy, general and regional elections during the pandemic, the Constitutional Court’s decision that strengthens election organizing institutions, codes of ethics and code of conducts for justices, enforcement of codes of ethics and code of conduct for justices in the settlement of general and regional election violations in the Constitutional Court, as well as the development of the Constitutional Court’s decisions.
The enforcement of code of ethics and code of conduct in the process of election violation mitigation, Justice Foekh said, cannot be separated from the meaning of democracy, which includes people’s sovereignty and is the highest concept that ensures that government power must be limited. One of the embodiments of the people’s sovereignty is elections, which are a means for the people to choose leaders. Therefore, this enforcement is very important to ensure the implementation of people’s sovereignty without any violation.
Justice Foekh first explained the positions of state institutions in Indonesia before and after the Reform. After the Reform, subsequent changes accompanied the development of constitutional law in Indonesia, including the establishment of the Constitutional Court as one of the state institutions exercising independent judicial power to administer justice to uphold law and justice. He then described how the people’s sovereignty relates to the democratic system in Indonesia, which requires the people to be the highest source of power in a country. In the view of many experts, he said, in a democratic country, power comes from the people, by the people, and for the people or government by the people, so the people have the power to regulate the course of government. This is in line with the provision in Article 1 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, which emphasizes the principle of people’s sovereignty and the derivation of the principle of sovereignty in general elections, limitation of term of office, and disclosure of information.
Justice Foekh, who first became a constitutional justice in 2020, revealed the duties and functions of the nine constitutional justices in the Constitutional Court, especially in relation to the settlement of general or regional election cases. He also shared his experience handling the 2020 Simultaneous Regional Head Election, which was considered different from the previous elections due to strict health protocols to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. In addition, he also mentioned that constitutional justices’ primary role is to protect the citizens’ constitutional rights under any circumstances.
“Based on the ius curia novit principle, [constitutional justices] are considered aware of the entire law, so the Court cannot refuse to examine and hear cases, even in a pandemic. So, access to justice for the community must still be provided properly in normal conditions and amid the COVID-19 crisis,” he said to students who attended the lectures onsite with strict COVID-19 health protocols.
Legal Aid Institute
Justice Foekh also inaugurated the University of Flores’s Legal Aid Institute (LBH). In his remarks, he revealed that LBH has been around in Indonesia since the early days of independence. The LBH was then accompanied by the Advocate Law and the Legal Aid Law, which later became a means for legal scholars who wished to fulfill the Tridharma (three pillars) of higher education in community service. Through the LBH, it is hoped that law graduates and law graduates of the University of Flores can provide fair legal guarantee of equal citizen rights before the law by providing legal consultation.
“An advocate who provides legal assistance must meet the code of ethics by keeping everything related to the cases they handle from family, colleagues, and relatives so that they can avoid conflicts of interest that might occur when providing legal aid. For this reason, the LBH foundation must also clarify its existence or position, whether it is under a university or a separate foundation, so that its independence can be maintained while providing its services to the community,” Justice Foekh explained.
Writer : Sri Pujianti
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 5/18/2022 10:44 WIB
Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.
Saturday, May 14, 2022 | 20:21 WIB 180